Neal: we let standards slip

Neal Ardley said that his side slipped well below the standards expected from them after a performance that he described as “embarrassing”.

Neal was particularly disappointed with the response from his players after they conceded the first goal in a 3-0 home defeat at the hands of Rochdale.

Speaking to Dons Player, Neal said: “It was embarrassing. Fans were shouting stuff at me and rightly so because I’m the manager and it’s my team. I feel let down today. We had changes enforced upon us during the game, but we just folded after the first goal and that’s the most disappointing thing. Our standards were miles off in every way and I have to take the rap for that.

“I was screaming at players to play with a bit of tempo and for them to look like they wanted to get an equaliser, but I am bereft as to why my team played that way. That disappointed me and it will rightly disappoint the fans because that is not what this club is about.”

The Wimbledon manager concluded that playing a 4-4-2 formation, a system deployed today, is not suited to his squad at the present time.

“We cannot play 4-4-2 with wide players because we’re not good enough,” Neal added. “We’ve not got the personnel to do it. That showed how exposed we are when we try and play that way. I have learned a lot today and it hurts. It will ruin my weekend, but we cannot afford to wallow in it and I have to make sure that it does not happen again.”

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